


Team-Building Activities

by masi



Series: Short Stories for BPS [5]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-20
Updated: 2013-10-20
Packaged: 2017-12-29 22:33:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1010903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masi/pseuds/masi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aomine, with much reluctance, goes to the convenience store with Sakurai to buy supplies for their team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Team-Building Activities

**Author's Note:**

> Written for BPS Challenge No. 41: Character Battle.

It really is too bad, Daiki reflects, following Ryou into the convenience store, that he can’t become a sort of rounin basketball player, travel from town to town, have an encounter with the strongest player in each town, defeat him. Too bad that basketball players only play as a team. Here he is, doing manual labor, just so he won’t be kicked off his own team. He can’t beat Kagami and Tetsu in the upcoming InterHigh if he’s not allowed to step onto the court. 

To make matters worse, Touou has abandoned its individual-play strategy this year for the sake of “team play,” resulting in “team-building activities” like this trip to this store. He and Ryou have been sent here to buy water bottles, tape, and bandages. Daiki sometimes misses Imayoshi. That guy didn’t give two shits about things like improving teamwork and being friends, unlike the terrible tag team that is Captain Wakamatsu & Manager Momoi.

He’s only going along with Wakamatsu and Satsuki’s plans until InterHigh is over. If team play doesn’t result with Touou winning first place, there are going to be words. Wakamatsu better get ready. 

“Oi, Ryou,” Daiki says, “you get the bottles. I’m getting the other stuff.”

“Um, okay,” Ryou says, after glancing in the direction of Daiki’s biceps. 

Daiki doesn’t see what the problem is: he isn’t doing this entirely out of laziness. Ryou could do with some muscle-training, especially if he wants to beat his favorite rival, Hyuuga, this year. Such a scrawny guy. 

And still so apologetic. There he goes, apologizing to a guy who has just knocked into him with a shopping basket. Pathetic.

But Daiki kind of likes Ryou, pathetic or not. Ryou’s bentos are works of art, as good as the food served in any five-star restaurant Daiki has been to, and Ryou is a helpful guy. He used to let Daiki copy his homework before Satsuki found out and put a stop to it. Nowadays, he helps Daiki study for tests, sometimes draws him funny comics to explain a concept.

Ryou’s basketball skills aren’t particularly interesting, but they’re not insultingly mediocre either. With a little more work he could be great. His quick release shot sometimes makes Daiki pause and watch. And he is amusing when he gets angry on the court, that pout, the trash talk.

Daiki didn’t come to Touou to make friends, but Ryou is not a bad friend to have.

After grabbing the tape and bandages, Daiki heads for the check-out line. He arrives just in time to see Ryou let a guy cut in front of him. To make matters worse, it’s the guy who knocked into him with a basket earlier. The guy is in a school uniform, probably from that high school a few block away from Touou, and has an awful buzz cut. He just shoved into the line, and Ryou looks more sad than annoyed.

“Are you shitting me?” Daiki says, a little too loudly. The pretty young woman at the cash register, probably a B-cup, frowns at him, and several customers turn and stare.

“Why’d you let him cut, idiot?” he snaps at Ryou.

Ryou, clutching the cases of water, says, “I’m so sorry! Sorry, I shouldn’t have. Now we’re going to be late and miss all of afternoon practice! Wakamatsu-san is going to be mad. Really, I’m such a useless person! Sorry, Aomine-kun!”

“No fights in the store, please,” the cashier calls out.

“Oi, Baldy,” Daiki says to the guy who cut and is now smirking at him and Ryou. “You’re standing in our place. Move back.”

“Who’re you calling baldy?” Baldy snaps. 

“Boys, please,” the cashier says.

Daiki stops because he can’t be bothered to get into fights over stupid things, and he doesn’t want to fight other people’s battles for them. He settles for glaring at Baldy until the guy leaves. And, after the stuff for the team has been rung up and he is outside again, he says to Ryou, “When are you going to stop letting people walk all over you?”

“I’m sorry,” Ryou replies, looking miserable. 

Daiki wants to be angry, but it’s hard to even be annoyed with Ryou, especially when his brown eyes are like this, filled with so much anguish, like that of a deer who has just been caught in the headlights of a car and is thinking that he might not make it home to his wife tonight. 

“You need to work on your personality,” Daiki says. He slings an arm around Ryou’s shoulders. “Start slow. First lesson. Don’t apologize to anyone who cuts in front of you, got it?”

“Yes, Aomine-kun,” Ryou says, and leans in a little closer instead of stiffening his shoulders like he would have in the past.

Maybe these teamwork exercises aren’t that bad, Daiki thinks, as he and Ryou divide up the bags of tape and bandages and then each pick up a case of water bottles. Ryou is smiling, and the late afternoon sun is shining on his brown hair, turning it gold. It’s kind of nice to have someone to teach again. Daiki had Tetsu and Kise before, but they discovered their own talents and their purpose and have moved beyond him. They’re doing well now. He can start again, with Ryou.


End file.
